The Most Unbelievable Things That Actually Happened At The Airport

Considering how many people pass through airports across the world, it’s kind of a given that things are going to get a little weird every once in awhile… but some things that happen before and after planes have taken off go beyond the unexpected. Whether there have been exotic animals loose in the building or human body parts being transported that definitely shouldn’t be, some truly insane moments have gone down in all kinds of major airports. Some of these things might sound like they couldn’t possibly be true, but trust us… they totally are. Even the ones that sound like they came straight from a horror movie.

This Emotional Support Peacock Was Denied A Ride

It’s illegal for certain institutions not to let people bring their legitimate service animals with them, even in places where animals typically aren’t allowed, but that didn’t exactly work for this woman and her pet. When a lady attempted to bring her emotional support peacock on a United Airlines flight out of Newark Airport, she was denied… because obviously, peacocks can’t really go on planes, duh. A spokesperson for the airline said it was officially because the peacock didn’t meet guidelines for animals who are safely able to travel with them, which makes a lot of sense because, like we said, it’s a peacock.

A Cheetah Got Loose In An Airport

When two cheetahs were being transported to the Memphis Zoo, one of them got loose in the cargo hold when the plane made a stop in Atlanta. Local Zoo Atlanta employees were called in to help trap the cheetah, because honestly, how else would you solve that situation without calling in the professionals? Eventually, a veterinarian had to shoot the cheetah with a tranquilizer gun so they could get everything under control. Fortunately, no passengers were harmed and both cheetahs who traveled that day were safe and also unharmed, so at least this story had a happy ending.

Someone Tried To Bring Cocaine Cookies Onto A Flight

It’s probably relatively common that the TSA finds people trying to bring drugs with them on a plane, but this situation was especially unusual. In 2012, more than $52,000 worth of cocaine was seized from a passenger at Newark Airport who was coming from Guatemala. The passenger brought the cocaine along that had been baked into cookies as a way of getting past customs, but unfortunately, his plot was foiled when they tested the cookies and found them positive for cocaine. Obviously, the man with the cocaine was arrested and tried for drug possession, so it’s pretty obvious that drugs don’t pay, kids.

And Another Guy Tried To Transport 18 Severed Heads

This one sounds like it’s straight out of a bloody horror movie. In 2013, a shipment of 18 severed heads (skin and all!) was found at customs at a Chicago airport, coming from Italy. Yes, this is real… but fortunately, it wasn’t because those people were murdered. The heads were actually headed to a research facility, but their paperwork was misplaced. In the end, officers discovered that the heads were legit and nobody was trying to do anything sinister with them, so they were released as planned. Hopefully, that box was kept far from passengers, because who wants to be anywhere near heads like that on their flight?!

An Actual Tiger Cub Was Found In A Suitcase

Obviously, traveling with exotic animals is just about impossible unless you follow the correct protocols and you’re a zoo trying to get an animal to another zoo. But this woman decided to take matters into her own hands. In 2010, a drugged tiger cub was found in a suitcase that was coming from Thailand. Apparently, a woman had packed the tiger in with stuffed toys and was hoping to bring him to Iran with her. In the end, the tiger was fine, but the woman faced major criminal charges and fines, as she should. Drugging an exotic animal like that, and keeping one as a pet? Not okay, lady.

Someone Filmed A Viral Video That Celine Dion Loved

Anyone who’s ever had a long layover or who’s been stuck in an airport for hours because of a delayed or canceled flight can definitely understand that at a certain point, you’ll do anything to kill the time and your boredom… hence this next story. A man named Richard Dunn made a music video to Celine Dion’s “All By Myself” while he had an overnight layover in Las Vegas, and it was a total hit. Originally made to make his wife, who was at home, laugh, the video ended up going viral and even Celine herself watched and loved it… and offered Richard tickets to one of her upcoming shows.

A Woman Walked Through The Airport Completely Nude

Last year, a woman walked into the Atlanta airport, bought a ticket in cash, stripped herself of all of her clothes, and started walking around the Delta terminal, behaving totally erratically… much to the shock of her fellow travelers. She pulled at her butt cheeks, screamed obscenities, and generally made everyone around her uncomfortable, as you’d imagine a naked woman in an airport might. It’s unclear whether or not the woman actually planned to get on the flight she bought a ticket for, but she never made it — she was arrested and then transported to a hospital for psychiatric observation.

A Football Player Made A Bomb Threat

Back in 2014, NFL player Aldon Smith got in major trouble when he made a bomb threat while at LAX Airport. Apparently, the 49ers player made a joke about how he was carrying a bomb with him while he was going through security, and that led to his arrest — because duh, the one thing you’re not supposed to do in an airport is make a bomb threat! Ultimately, Aldon didn’t have to face any other consequences, so hopefully, he learned a lesson from that little experience. “I’m a good person, and the people who know me know I’m a good person,” Aldon said. “Maybe after this is over, you can tell your friends I’m a good person. Anybody who hangs around me can tell that. A lot of these things are being painted in a picture that’s not true.”

There Was Bodily Fluid In The Soap Dispensers In Detroit

This one’s really, really gross… and it might even make you bring your own travel sized soap along next time you travel. Last year, an “unusual substance” that was later found to be a man’s bodily fluid was found in the soap dispensers at Detroit’s airport, and since their dispensers are hard to refill, the airport assumed it had to be an employee who did it. “The way the soap dispensers are under the sink, a passenger wouldn’t know how to get up under, and untwist them,” an airport custodian said. “It really is disgusting. A lot of crazy things happen at the airport.” Uh, yeah, we’d say so.

Passengers Actually Had To Push A Plane

Anyone who’s ever owned or even ridden in an older car knows that sometimes, all it needs is a good push… and apparently, that applies to planes, too. In 2014, passengers had to band together to avoid a delayed flight in Siberia when their plane got stuck in the ice on the runway. They actually worked together to push the plane free, because that’s how badly they wanted to get home. Listen, we’ve all reached that point where all we wanted was to get on a plane without one more delay, so it kind of makes sense that these people were able to find the strength to make it happen.

Every Single Flight Was Cancelled In Atlanta

In 2017, all operations at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport came crashing down when the airport lost power… which was, you know, no big deal or anything, since it was just happening at the world’s busiest airport. Officials later said that the outage was probably caused by a fire, and it took hours for the power to be brought back online and for operations to finally be restored. Thousands of people were displaced after hundreds of flights were canceled that day, which had to be the biggest travel headache ever. Can you imagine an airport full of people with no one going anywhere and no power?

Porn Was Actually Playing At The Airport

Usually, the TVs at the airport are playing some pretty neutral stuff — the news, sports, maybe a little HGTV if you’re lucky. But in the case of a New Delhi airport, one accidentally showed porn on two different TVs for waiting passengers to watch. In fact, passengers were the first ones who caught the issue and reported it, prompting a police investigation… and one of the officers on the scene even thought it might have been an employee’s mistake. “It’s possible that they were not aware of the fact that the same connection was being used for the two television sets in the visitors’ lounge,” the officer said.

A Man Smuggled Gold Bars In His Rectum

In 2014, a man arrived in Panaji on an Air India flight from Mumbai and gave the customs agents something interesting to talk about when he tried to pass through security. He told the officers that he was in the country on business but couldn’t name the hotels he was there to work with, which first raised suspicions. And then, he was holding six gold bars in his rectum, each weighing 100 grams, as a means of smuggling them into the country. We have no idea how exactly this story ended, but we have a feeling that guy probably saw the inside of a prison. Just a hunch.

What’s it look like when a person goes through the baggage scanner? Find out next!

A Drunk Man Went Through The Baggage Scanner

Back in 2012, a Norwegian man arrived at Rome’s airport to travel like any other person would, but there was one small issue: He was really, really drunk. Complete chaos ensued. Apparently, he fell asleep on the baggage scanner and ended up going through the X-ray machine. In fact, the movement of the belt didn’t even wake him up — he was there for 15 minutes, sound asleep, until police discovered him sleeping there in the fetal position. He was later taken to the hospital, just to make sure the radiation from the machine hadn’t harmed him. And probably to sober up.

Women Tried To Smuggle Cocaine In With A Diaper

if you thought that story about the man bringing cocaine into the airport baked into cookies was weird, here’s where it gets even stranger. In 2013, two women arrested at the JFK Airport for smuggling drugs in an incredibly creative way. After drug-sniffing dogs stopped them, they got an extra pat-down, and officers found that both of them were wearing duct tape diapers filled with cocaine. We’re not quite sure where they got the idea for that one, but it’s definitely the first we’ve heard of it. And can you imagine trying to strip a pair of duct tape underwear off your skin? Um, yeah, no thanks. That sounds like deterrent enough.

A Man Got Arrested For Wearing Too Many Clothes

A man in Iceland was arrested when he was found to be wearing too many clothes — yes, you read that right. It wasn’t because he was cold, though… it was because he piled on about eight different outfits to avoid paying for an excess baggage fee. It’s not baggage if it’s on your body, right? Sadly, that didn’t exactly work for him, and he was arrested when he refused to comply and take the clothing off. You have to admit that he did come up with a pretty creative solution to those extremely ridiculous checked baggage fees, right? If only it had worked, it would have been an awesome way to save money.

Two Women Tried To Smuggle A Dead Body Onto A Plane

Back in 2012, a woman named Gitta Jarant tried to smuggle her dead husband, Kurt, through the airport and onto a flight with the help of her daughter. They were at John Lennon Airport when the body was found, because they had the ultra genius idea to pull a Weekend at Bernie’s and just prop the dead body up in a wheelchair wearing sunglasses. They told everyone around them that he was just asleep. Of course, he was not asleep, and both women were arrested at the airport. He’d been dead for at least 12 hours at that point, according to the coroner who responded.

A Dead Body Was Found On The Runway in Hawaii

Speaking of dead bodies… here’s another tale that involves one at the airport. In January 2018, a dead body was found on the runway in Honolulu, after someone on a plane spoke up about how they saw something out there. Airport employees investigated, and discovered that it actually was a body. So far, the airport has yet to reveal who the person was that was found or why the person died, but hopefully, we’ll get more answers about the situation in the future. Considering the fact that Honolulu is such a huge tourist destination, they should probably get this one cleared up as quickly as possible.

Parents Tried To Pack Their Baby In A Carry On

Word to the wise: Visas are serious business, even for babies. Not too long ago, a couple who was trying to fly out of Egypt into the United Arab Emirates were denied their flight because they had a baby with them who didn’t have a visa. Their solution? Oh, no big deal, just zip the baby up into the suitcase like was their luggage. Of course, that plan didn’t work, because as soon as the luggage went through the x-ray scanner, the airport discovered exactly what was going on and the parents were arrested. Um, not their best parenting decision ever.

This Airport Put A Limit On Goodbye Kisses

This sign can be found at Denmark’s Aalborg Airport, right in their “kiss and goodbye zone,” which is where people can drop off their loved ones without having to park and pay the exorbitant fees that come with airport parking. No kisses above three minutes, guys, and don’t even try to break that rule! As ridiculous as it sounds at first, it actually makes sense, though, since this is supposed to be a part of the airport that’s fast and easy to get out of. If everyone took their sweet time saying goodbye, it would be a disaster for everyone involved.